Improvement in boots and shoes



G. W. lTASH.

Shoe and Bootee. No. 122,788. Fly/ .Pateniedlnnmwaz Zur, ALF attorney.-

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcEk GEORGE W. TASH, OF DOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

IMPROVEMENT IN BOOTS AND SHOES.

' of my improved shoes or bootees, the latter section being taken transversely through the shoe and its two flies or covering' aps.

The nature of my invention may be said to consist in the :arrangement of two coveringilaps with a shoe, and a series of straps and buckles applied thereto, all being substantially as hereinafter described 5 the purpose of the improvement being to effectual] y close or cover the front slit or opening of the shoe, or what is usually termed the lacing-slit, and thereby exclude dust and even water from entering thereby.

In carrying out my said invention, I affix to a shoe, A, provided with a slit or opening, a, extending upward in it from the instep, two flaps or flies b c, one being fastened to one side and the other to the other side of the said instep-opening at about three-fourths of an inch from its edge. One fly or iiap, b, at its lower end is lapped over the other ily and sewed down to the vamp or upper, as seen at d. A series of buckles, e e e, is fixed to one of the quarters close to its junction with the iiy c, there being a series of straps, d d d, connected to the other quarter, and arranged so as to cross the fly and engage with such buckles. The inner liy c is to extend into the space between the other iiy and the quarter to which it is attached the lacing-slit if desirable being provided with eyelets or holes to receive a lacnig.

From the above it will be seen that when the shoe is on the foot of a person and buckled, the inner ily will cover the lacing-slit and be lapped on or covered by the outer ily, the whole being closely held together by the buckles and straps. The outer fly, by being attached to one edge and its lower part or end to the shoe, will operate with the inner il y to eectually exclude dust and other matters from getting into the shoe.

I am aware of the patent N o. 107,064, dated September 6th, 1870, and granted to Jonathan Ooykendall, wherein two liapsor flies are represented as provided with straps extended from them respectively, one of such flies or flaps being projected directly from one side of the instep-opening, and the other being fixed to the shoe at a distance from the opposite side of such opening, the straps when buckled going around the leg part ofthe shoe, all of which diifers materially from my arrangement. In said Ooykendalls shoe, only one of the ilies is arranged at a distance from the instep-openin g, whereas in my shoe both flaps or iiies are so disposed. In my shoe the buckles and straps are not fastened to the ilies, but to the vamp or main part of the upper, outside of or beyond the flies, and so as when buckled to ex- A tend across and over the outer fly. I am also aware of the United States patent No. 81,106, granted to Joel Putnam, and dated August 18, 1868, in which two iiies or tongues to overlap each other, are fastened to the shoe on its inner surface, underneath the lacingslit and lacing; such arrangement differingfrom mine, in which the llies are iixed to the shoe on its outer surface, so as to lap over the lacing-slit and lacing when used, and have buckles and straps so arranged as to cause the straps when buckled, to fold over or extend across the outer surface of the outer iiy.

I make no claim to any combination or arrangement of parts as shown in either of the said patents, intending to limit my invention to my special arrangement and construction; which saves the necessity of straps fastened to the two ie's and going around the leg part above the ankle 5 and also, disposes the lappingllies so as to extend across the lacing-slit or instep-opening on its outer side, and the straps across and outside of the outer fly.

What therefore I claim as my invention, is-

The two iies b ccombinedwand arranged with the instep-opening or lacing-slit a., and with buckles and straps, in manner substantially as represented in the accompanying drawing, and hereinbefore described.

GEORGE W. TASH.

J. E. sNow. (16) 

